Audacity of Hope by Barack Obama
In 2006, before his presidential run, then-Senator Barack Obama published The Audacity of Hope. It was part of a long tradition of presidential hopefuls publishing sort of a detailed personal & policy driven vision for the country. For myself, it was the only book of this genre that I’d ever read before or since. So, of course, I think it’s far and away the best.
I’m back-filling this “review” ~20 years after the book was published and ~10 years since Obama left office. I don’t remember a ton of details from the book (and I could easily find those elsewhere, anyway).
This isn’t really a book review – it’s a reminder to myself that I once changed my mind, and could again. And I think that’s true of everyone. I think that people can and do change both their thoughts and behavior. And it’s hard to predict exactly what will change it.
Despite my background & social circles at the time (deeply embedded within white, Southern, conservative Christian America), I had never voted for a Republican candidate. The entire Party went against everything I knew, valued & saw around me in 2006. But also, the 3rd parties of the time were so…ineffective, contradictory, unpragmatic, small minded (and just flat out weird and unkind – as I found out as a member of the UGA Libertarians).
I remember Audacity of Hope providing nuance more than anything.
I learned that parties are not about Red / Blue but about coalitions. The coalitions within the two Parties matter as much as the Party as a whole. This is why 3rd Parties don’t really work in the American political system, unless they get big enough to join & influence one of the two existing Parties. I started (generally) voting Democrat, but saw myself as just part of a giant, shifting coalition tent trying to get stuff done.
I learned that policies are not about right / wrong but about tradeoffs.
Nothing about it was too groundbreaking…except that it was coming from a politician who wanted to applying these sort of common, normal concepts to politics.
Also, 2006 was the first year that I had to try to get health insurance without an employer. It was expensive, capped, and declared excluded pre-existing conditions due to preventive care and checkups along with excluding all maternity care. So there’s that.
Would 2005 me recognize 2026 me? Probably not. Maybe surprised, but also not shocked. And that’s the point.
What I Liked
Obama is possibly the best writer of any President that we’ve had. I mean, the book is engaging, it flows, it’s both nuanced and easy to understand.
I love how the book was structured. It’s a challenge to take a bunch of policy proposals and personal experiences and weave it into a single, cohesive narrative. But the book pulls it off.
Side note – these extend also to his excellent A Promised Land.
What I Did Not Like
Not a a whole lot. It definitely sets a standard for pre-Presidential books.
In 2006, before his presidential run, then-Senator Barack Obama published The Audacity of Hope. It was part of a long tradition of presidential hopefuls publishing sort of a detailed personal & policy driven vision for the country. For myself, it was the only book of this genre that I'd ever read before or since. So, of course, I think it's far and away the best.
- Love the exceptional writing quality—engaging, clear, flows well
- Provides political nuance over simplistic thinking
- Teaches about coalitions vs. red/blue tribalism
- Frames policies as tradeoffs rather than right/wrong
- None!
